Circular economy is an economic model, where rather than constantly producing more products, we have consumption based not on ownership, but on the use of services: sharing, leasing and recycling. Here, the value tied to the materials remains in society for as along as possible. In circular economy, economic growth is not dependent on the consumption of natural resources. 

Durat is a pioneer of circular economy in Finland. For thirty years already, the operations of this business have been developed in accordance with the principles of circular economy. Our goal is to have a closed material cycle so that our production will not generate any landfill waste at all. 

Recycling 

Every year, we spend approximately 20–25 tonnes of industrial surplus plastic as the raw material for composite plastic. This is equivalent to the volume of plastic waste generated by approximately 800 Finns per year. The use of surplus plastic replaces the use of an equivalent quantity of virgin raw materials in the manufacturing of the material. Thus, we can save considerably more resources in comparison with other conventional composite materials. Our goal is to continuously increase the use of recycled material.

The surplus pieces generated during the process and, for example, badly broken pieces of furniture that are no longer worth restoring, are crushed and used to manufacture new material. Thus, our production material is fully recycled without any loss. 

Restoration and Reuse 

Restoring products and reusing them is the primary way of extending the product life cycle. This reduces the demand for virgin material and the energy needed to manufacture such. The Durat material consists of solid wood, any damage to which is easily repaired. If some furniture is no longer used as originally intended, for example, due to a refurbishment, the furniture can easily be restored and modified to suit the new premises. We redeem all phased-out Durat furniture and then proceed to restore and resell it. We sell these second cycle products under the brand of Durat Circular. 

Durat is on the Sitra's list of the most interesting companies in the circular economy.